Saturday, May 5, 2018

CELEBRATE Cinco de Mayo! - What is it? Why do we celebrate it?

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Cinco de Mayo

Cinco
de Mayo (pronounced [ˈsiŋko ðe ˈmaʝo]; Spanish for "Fifth of May") is
an annual celebration held on May 5. The date is observed to commemorate
the Mexican Army's unlikely victory over the French Empire at the
Battle of Puebla, on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General
Ignacio Zaragoza.[1][2]

In
the United States, Cinco de Mayo has taken on a significance beyond
that in Mexico. In the U.S. the date has become associated with the
celebration of Mexican-American culture. In Mexico, the commemoration of
the battle continues to be mostly ceremonial, such as through military
parades.

In
the United States, Cinco de Mayo is sometimes mistaken for Mexico's
Independence Day—the most important national holiday in Mexico—which is
celebrated on September 16, commemorating the Cry of Dolores that
initiated the war of Mexican independence from Spain.

BackgroundEvents leading to the Battle of PueblaCinco
de Mayo has its roots in the French occupation of Mexico, which took
place in the aftermath of the Mexican–American War of 1846–48 and the
1858–61 Reform War. The Reform War was a civil war which pitted Liberals
(who believed in separation of church and state, and freedom of
religion) against the Conservatives (who favored a tight bond between
the Roman Catholic Church and the Mexican State).[8] These wars nearly
bankrupted the Mexican Treasury. On July 17, 1861, Mexican President
Benito Juárez issued a moratorium in which all foreign debt payments
would be suspended for two years.[3][9] In response, Britain, France,
and Spain sent naval forces to Veracruz to demand reimbursement. Britain
and Spain negotiated with Mexico and withdrew, but France, at the time
ruled by Napoleon III, decided to use the opportunity to establish an
empire in Mexico that would favor French interests, the Second Mexican
Empire. The empire was part of an envisioned "Latin America" (term used
to imply cultural kinship of the region with France) that would rebuild
French influence in the American continent and exclude Anglophone
American territories.

French invasion and Mexican victory Main article: Battle of PueblaLate
in 1861, a well-armed French fleet stormed Veracruz, landing a large
French force and driving President Juárez and his government into
retreat.[10] Moving on from Veracruz towards Mexico City, the French
army encountered heavy resistance from the Mexicans close to Puebla, at
the Mexican forts of Loreto and Guadalupe.[11] The French army of 6,000
[12][13][note 1] attacked the poorly equipped Mexican army of
4,000.[14][note 2] On May 5, 1862,[15] the Mexicans decisively defeated
the French army.[16][17][18] The victory represented a significant
morale boost to the Mexican army and the Mexican people at large [19]
[20] and helped establish a sense of national unity and patriotism.

Events after the battleThe
Mexican victory, however, was short-lived. A year later, with 30,000
troops, the French were able to defeat the Mexican army, capture Mexico
City, and install Emperor Maximilian I as ruler of Mexico.[22] The
French victory was itself short-lived, lasting only three years, from
1864 to 1867.[22] By 1865, "with the American Civil War now over, the
U.S. began to provide more political and military assistance to Mexico
to expel the French".[22] Upon the conclusion of the American Civil War,
Napoleon III, facing a persistent Mexican guerilla resistance, the
threat of war with Prussia, and "the prospect of a serious scrap with
the United States", retreated from Mexico starting in 1866.[23] The
Mexicans recaptured Mexico City, and Maximilian I was apprehended and
executed, along with his Mexican generals Miguel Miramón and Tomás Mejía
Camacho in Cerro de las Campanas, Querétaro.[9][22] "On June 5, 1867,
Benito Juárez finally entered Mexico City where he installed a new
government and reorganized his administration."

SignificanceThe
Battle of Puebla was significant, both nationally and internationally,
for several reasons. First, although considerably outnumbered, the
Mexicans defeated a much-better-equipped French army. "This battle was
significant in that the 4,000 Mexican soldiers were greatly outnumbered
by the well-equipped French army of 8,000 that had not been defeated for
almost 50 years." [24][25] [note 3] Second, since the Battle of Puebla,
some have argued that no country in the Americas has subsequently been
invaded by any other European military force.[26][note 4] Historian
Justo Sierra has written in his Political Evolution of the Mexican
People that, had Mexico not defeated the French in Puebla on May 5,
1862, France would have gone to the aid of the Confederacy in the U.S.
Civil War and the United States' destiny would have been different.

History of the holiday United StatesAccording
to a paper published by the UCLA Center for the Study of Latino Health
and Culture about the origin of the observance of Cinco de Mayo in the
United States, the modern American focus on that day first started in
California in 1863 in response to the resistance to French rule in
Mexico.[29] "Far up in the gold country town of Columbia (now Columbia
State Park) Mexican miners were so overjoyed at the news that they
spontaneously fired off rifle shots and fireworks, sang patriotic songs
and made impromptu speeches."

A
2007 UCLA Newsroom article notes that, "the holiday, which has been
celebrated in California continuously since 1863, is virtually ignored
in Mexico."[29] TIME magazine reports that "Cinco de Mayo started to
come into vogue in 1940s America during the rise of the Chicano
Movement."[20] The holiday crossed over from California into the rest of
the United States in the 1950s and 1960s but did not gain popularity
until the 1980s when marketers, especially beer companies, capitalized
on the celebratory nature of the day and began to promote it.[31][32] It
grew in popularity and evolved into a celebration of Mexican culture
and heritage, first in areas with large Mexican-American populations,
like Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and San Jose.[33]

In
a 1998 study in the Journal of American Culture it was reported that
there were more than 120 official US celebrations of Cinco de Mayo in 21
different states. An update in 2006 found that the number of official
Cinco de Mayo events was 150 or more, according to José Alamillo, a
professor of ethnic studies at Washington State University in Pullman,
who has studied the cultural impact of Cinco de Mayo north of the
border.[34] Los Angeles' Fiesta Broadway has been billed as the largest
Cinco de Mayo celebration in the world, which it most certainly was at
its peak in the 1990s when it attracted crowds of 500,000 or more. In
recent years attendance has seen a dramatic decrease.[35][36]

On
June 7, 2005, the United States Congress issued a concurrent resolution
calling on the President of the United States to issue a proclamation
calling upon the people of the United States to observe Cinco de Mayo
with appropriate ceremonies and activities.[37] To celebrate, many
display Cinco de Mayo banners while school districts hold special events
to educate students about its historical significance. Special events
and celebrations highlight Mexican culture, especially in its music and
regional dancing. Examples include baile folklórico and mariachi
demonstrations held annually at the Plaza del Pueblo de Los Ángeles,
near Olvera Street. Commercial interests in the United States have
capitalized on the celebration, advertising Mexican products and
services, with an emphasis on alcoholic beverages,[38][39] foods, and
music.

MexicoOn
May 9, 1862, President Juárez declared that the anniversary of the
Battle of Puebla would be a national holiday regarded as "Battle of
Puebla Day" or "Battle of Cinco de Mayo".[42][43][44][45][46]

Today,
the commemoration of the battle is not observed as a national holiday
in Mexico (i.e. not a statutory holiday).[47] However, all public
schools are closed nationwide in Mexico on May 5.[48][49] The day is an
official holiday in the State of Puebla, where the Battle took place,
and also a full holiday (no work) in the neighboring State of
Veracruz.[50][51]

In
Puebla, historical reenactments, parades, and meals take place to
commemorate the battle. Parade participants dress as French and Mexican
soldiers to reenact the battle.[52] Every year the city also hosts the
Festival Internacional de Puebla, which gathers national and
international artists, traditional musicians and dancers.[52] As well as
the Festival Internacional del Mole, with an emphasis on the city's
iconic mole poblano.[52]

In
Mexico City, military commemoration is occasionally held at the Campo
Marte.[53] A street, Avenida Cinco de Mayo, in the Historic Center of
Mexico City was named after the battle in 1862 by Benito Juárez.

Elsewhere

Events
tied to Cinco de Mayo also occur outside Mexico and the United States.
As in the United States, celebrations elsewhere also emphasize Mexican
cuisine, culture and music. For example, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, holds
a "Cinco de Mayo Street Festival",[54][55] some Canadian pubs play
Mexican music and serve Mexican food and drink,[56] and a sky-diving
club near Vancouver holds a Cinco de Mayo skydiving event.[57] In the
Cayman Islands, in the Caribbean, there is an annual Cinco de Mayo air
guitar competition,[58] and at Montego Bay, Jamaica, there is a Cinco de
Mayo celebration.[59] The city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia,
holds an annual Mexican Festival[60] to honor the day, and celebrations
are held in London[61] and New Zealand.[62] Other celebrations of the
day can also be found in Cape Town, South Africa,[63] Lagos,
Nigeria,[64] and in Paris.[65] Cinco de Mayo is celebrated in Japan in
Osaka and in Tokyo's Yoyogi Park Event Space as a celebration of Latin
American culture.

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